Democratic governor candidates J.B. Pritzker and Daniel Biss clashed Wednesday night over who was more closely allied with House Speaker Michael Madigan as each sought to tarnish the other at a Downstate candidate forum.

Billy Graham, the evangelist whose eloquent oratory and passion for Jesus attracted a worldwide following and made him one of the most influential and best-known religious figures of his time, was found dead Wednesday at his home in Montreat, North Carolina. He was 99.

The social media service Twitter is believed to have suspended thousands of accounts for being automated bots, or for other policy violations, drawing outcry from fringe conservative media figures who lost followers in the move.

Many of these figures, such as pro-Trump host Bill Mitchell and white...

Potential challenger Garry McCarthy is sharpening his criticism of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, accusing City Hall of a "cover-up" in the Laquan McDonald police shooting case and a subsequent "witch hunt" against Chicago's cops.

McCarthy stopped short of accusing Emanuel himself, but the former top cop's...

Doctors in Syria's rebel-controlled suburbs of Damascus said Wednesday they were unable to keep up with the staggering number of casualties, amid a ferocious bombing campaign by government forces that has targeted hospitals, apartment blocks and other civilian sites, killing and wounding hundreds...

A cupcake food truck owner who believes Chicago's regulations — including a rule requiring mobile vendors stay at least 200 feet away from bricks-and-mortar restaurants — are unconstitutional is asking the Illinois Supreme Court to take up her lawsuit.

As Americans mourned the death of the Rev. Billy Graham on Wednesday, most remembered him as a pastor with the ability to lead thousands to Jesus, take presidents under his wing and console a nation after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

In a wave of demonstrations reaching from Arizona to Maine, students at dozens of U.S. high schools walked out of class Wednesday to protest gun violence and honor the victims of last week's deadly shooting in Florida.

The protests spread from school to school as students shared plans for their...

There's no shortage of Olympics purists who think Elizabeth Swaney's halfpipe run at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics should have her looking for a way to crawl under the halfpipe. Representing Hungary, Swaney lolled from one side of the halfpipe to the other, looking like someone who skis once...

Spilling out wrenching tales of lost lives and stolen security, students and parents appealed to President Donald Trump on Wednesday to set politics aside and protect America's school children from the scourge of gun violence. Trump listened intently to the raw emotion and pledged action, including...

Gov. Bruce Rauner said Wednesday his administration is re-evaluating whether to move residents out of the Quincy Veterans Home following new cases of Legionnaires' disease as his primary challenger continues to push him on the issue.

Under unusual pressure from federal judges, prosecutors said Wednesday they plan to offer plea deals to 43 men charged in drug stash house ripoff stings that have come under fire for alleged racial bias.

The ongoing plea negotiations — an about-face for the U.S. attorney's office — were revealed...

Spilling out wrenching tales of lost lives and stolen safety, students with quavering voices and parents shaking with anger appealed to President Donald Trump on Wednesday to set politics aside and protect American schoolchildren from the scourge of gun violence. Trump listened intently as raw...

A week after a shooter slaughtered 17 people in a Florida high school, thousands of angry teenagers swarmed into the state capitol on Wednesday, calling for changes to gun laws, a ban on assault-type weapons and improved care for the mentally ill.

A federal jury found a Naperville man guilty Wednesday of sweeping sex trafficking charges alleging he used death threats, beatings and other abuse to force nine women into sexual servitude dating to 2009.

The jury deliberated for about 12 hours over parts of two days before convicting Benjamin...

At the end of last year, 20 Chicago theater companies received a seasonal surprise: quiet $10,000 checks from the newly formed Bayless Family Foundation. The only significant condition? A willingness to discuss their future needs with the philanthropic arm of culinary impresario Rick Bayless and...

The Wolves are players on a fictional, under-17 girls soccer team, the scourge of their suburban league. But the play by Sarah DeLappe that created them isn't so much a work about the world's most beautiful game, notwithstanding some nods in that most worthy of directions, but an honest and sympathetic...

Welcome, Parkland shooting survivors, to the ugly world of politics in 2018.

In the aftermath of last week's school shooting in Parkland, Florida, some of the most powerful testimonies have come from the teenagers who survived the rampage. They have repeatedly detailed their harrowing experience...

A federal jury found a Naperville man guilty Wednesday of sweeping sex trafficking charges alleging he used death threats, beatings and other abuse to force nine women into sexual servitude dating to 2009.

The jury deliberated over parts of two days before convicting Benjamin Biancofiori of 14...

Hundreds of Oak Park and River Forest High School students walked out of their classrooms Wednesday afternoon to demand that Congress enact stronger gun regulations.The walkout comes one week after 17 people were shot and killed at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. At noon Wednesday,...

Hundreds of Oak Park and River Forest High School students walked out of their classrooms Wednesday afternoon to demand that Congress enact stronger gun regulations.The walkout comes one week after 17 people were shot and killed at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. At noon Wednesday,...

Doctors in Syria's rebel-controlled suburbs of Damascus said Wednesday they were unable to keep up with the staggering number of casualties, amid a ferocious bombing campaign by government forces that has targeted hospitals, apartment blocks and other civilian sites, killing and wounding hundreds...

President Donald Trump once described the prospect of a peace pact between Israelis and Palestinians as the "ultimate deal," a foundational diplomatic breakthrough that could burnish his presidency and help restore America's standing in the world.

Refusing to let last week's fatal school shooting in Parkland, Fla., become a sad memory without action to prevent further school violence, students across the Chicago area and nationwide are staging walkouts, organizing letter-writing campaigns and scheduling meetings with politicians to demand...

Trying to point out the mistakes, transgressions and failures of the Trump administration is like trying to load frogs into a wheelbarrow. For every one you get, a dozen get away. The latest example comes courtesy of Scott Pruitt, head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Thousands of chanting students, including survivors of the Florida school shooting, rallied at the state Capitol on Wednesday, demanding changes to gun laws and threatening to remove Republicans who refuse to address new gun-control measures.

Crews used boats to help residents evacuate their homes in northern Indiana after rainstorms sweeping across the Midwest on Wednesday combined with melting snow to flood rivers, roads and other low-lying areas in several states.

A onetime Buffalo Grove business executive pleaded guilty Wednesday to racking up $5.8 million in unauthorized charges on his company's expense account to fund a lavish lifestyle with his escort-turned-girlfriend.

Scott Kennedy, 43, entered his plea to one count of wire fraud in a brief hearing...

The parents of first lady Melania Trump have become legal permanent residents of the United States and are close to obtaining their citizenship, according to people familiar with their status, but their attorney declined to say how or when the couple gained their green cards.

The Rev. Billy Graham, the magnetic, movie-star-handsome preacher who became a singular force in postwar American religious life, a confidant of presidents and the most widely heard Christian evangelist in history, died Wednesday at 99.

Sometimes you can't see what truly sparkles and shines for all the sequins and rhinestones.

For those still obsessed with their hair and outfits, figure skating analysts Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir's take on Bradie Tennell's short program to open NBC's prime-time Olympics broadcast Tuesday bears...

That's the last time the injured Blackhawks goalie appeared in a game. And though the team has remained optimistic he would return from what has been reported as a concussion-related ailment, coach Joel Quenneville acknowledged...

Under unusual pressure from federal judges, prosecutors said Wednesday they plan to offer plea deals to 43 men charged in drug stash house ripoff stings that have come under fire for alleged racial bias.

The ongoing plea negotiations — an about-face for the U.S. attorney's office — were revealed...

To the untrained eye, White Sox prospects Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert provided several did-you-see-that moments during batting practice Tuesday at Camelback Ranch, confirming their prodigious power and enormous talent.

To Sox executive vice president Ken Williams, a video junkie more interested...

President Donald Trump on Wednesday lashed out at Attorney General Jeff Sessions, suggesting the president's supporters should pressure Sessions to focus the investigation into Russian election meddling on President Barack Obama's administration.

It's proper that House Speaker Michael Madigan acknowledges his failure to be a leader in the fight against sexual harassment and bullying in Illinois government and politics. It's also stunning, given his clenched grip on power and his reluctance to take responsibility for the state of this state....

Officials at Oak Park and River Forest High School said they have learned students are expected to walk out of school at about noon today "as part of a grassroots, nationwide, student-led effort to end gun violence."

It is part of the response to last week's mass shooting at a school in Florida,...

Officials at Oak Park and River Forest High School said they have learned students are expected to walk out of school at about noon today "as part of a grassroots, nationwide, student-led effort to end gun violence."

It is part of the response to last week's mass shooting at a school in Florida,...

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo was pleased to learn that all 30 major-league teams will wear Stoneman Douglas High School baseball caps to honor the 17 people who died in a shooting last week at his alma mater.

"I think it's awesome," Rizzo said Wednesday, less than one week after he spoke at...

In recent months, Corporate America's corner office has actually gotten a little less diverse -- not more -- when it comes to the number of African-Americans. With American Express chief executive Kenneth Chenault stepping down, there are just three black CEOs in the Fortune 500. And with the departure...

Republican leaders of the Pennsylvania Legislature said Wednesday they will soon ask the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the imposition of new congressional district maps, two days after they were announced by the state's highest court.

The 2018 Ford F-150 has just the right balance of capability, comfort and convenience to make you feel that what you want is what you need. That is the success story of America's best-selling vehicle for nearly four decades: to convince the market that want and need are the same.

Mia Manganello crossed the finish line, glanced at the videoboard and let out a yell. She then grabbed hands with American teammates Heather Bergsma and Brittany Bowe, and the trio thrust their arms in the air.

The Americans had reason to celebrate Wednesday. They finally won a long-track speedskating...

Her body still functions, and because her mind has never changed, she can still will all that scar tissue down a ski hill at harrowing speeds. But this here is the end for Lindsey Vonn, at least in the Olympics. What it took to slide into the start gate Wednesday morning at Jeongseon Alpine Centre...

She's a hashtag; she's a meme. Chicago fashion blogger Hoda Katebi's response to a WGN-TV news anchor who told her that she doesn't "sound like an American" when she criticizes U.S. policy in the Middle East has been reported by media in Russia, England and Dubai. More than 10 million people have...